Akron, OH (Sports Network) - It was a long time coming, but the Massachusetts
Minutemen finally picked up their first victory as a member of the Football
Bowl Subdivision as they defeated the Akron Zips, 22-14, in Mid-American
Conference action at InfoCision Stadium.

UMass (1-9, 1-5 MAC) entered the week with a 12-game losing streak, but thanks
in part to kicker Blake Lucas who knocked through three field goals, the team
finally broke into the win column for the first time since topping Richmond,
28-7, on Oct. 29, 2011. Quarterback Mike Wegzyn threw for 266 yards and a
touchdown and also ran for another late in the fourth quarter to help put the
contest out of reach for the visitors.

The Zips (1-10, 0-7), now losers of eight in a row, were led by Dalton
Williams who converted 34-of-51 passes for 332 yards and a score, but he was
also intercepted four times by the UMass defense. Jawon Chisholm ran for a
game-high 103 yards and a TD in the setback.

Lucas opened the contest with field goals of 23 and 26 yards in the first and
second quarters, respectively, for the Minutemen. The team followed with a 24-
yard TD pass from Wegzyn to Alan Williams, while Lucas knocked through a 35-
yard effort in the final seconds of the first half to give the visitors a 15-0
lead at the break.

Akron finally broke through with a one-yard TD run by Chisholm for the only
points of the third.

UMass responded with a one-yard touchdown run by Wegzyn with just under four
minutes remaining in the fourth to again build the lead back up to double
digits.

The Zips tried to keep hope alive as they moved the ball 76 yards on nine
plays in 1:26, capped by a 19-yard TD pass from Williams to Marquelo Suel, but
by then it was too late.

Akron finished the day with 427 yards of total offense, but was limited to
just 4-of-12 on third down.